This is my study guide for the Licensed Social Worker (LSW) exam, or more specifically, the ASWB Master's Exam. I will be primarily focusing on human behavior and development theories and intervention models.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Bipolar I, II, and Cyclothymic Disorder

A friend and I were having this discussion about the differences between Bipolar I and II, and I had to revert to my trusty pocket version of the DSM to remind myself.

Bipolar I is the most extreme of the disorders. In order to receive a diagnosis of Bipolar I the individual must have at least one manic episode. MANIC is the key term here- HYPOMANIC is not the same.

Hypomania can have symptoms of rapid speaking, racing ideas, not sleeping, and surges of energy. Individuals who are hypomanic are usually able to keep up with their social and occupational obligations.

Mania is intense and often frightening. Individuals may lose touch with reality, believing they are a deity, on a mission from a deity (delusions of grandeur), or experience a psychotic break. They may fly into rages. They may engage in dangerous and destructive behaviors such as abusing stimulants (cocaine, speed) or reckless driving. They may spend money with abandon and may ruin their financial lives in a matter of days.

A mixed episode is when mania and the depressive state are happening at the same time. Just thinking about this occurring is a nightmare for me. Visualize a person in a very foul, depressed, hopeless mood and combine it with racing thoughts and raging energy. Mixed episodes have symptoms such as panic, paranoid delusions, suicidal ideation, and rage.

Ok, so back to Bipolar I and II.

Bipolar I must have had at least one manic episode. A depressive episode is not needed for the diagnosis, but will usually be present at least once.

Bipolar II must have had at least one hypomanic episode and one depressive episode.

Cyclothymia could be seen as Bipolar II Lite. There must be hypomanic episodes and depressive episodes, but the depressive episodes do not need to be as severe as they are for Bipolar II.

10 comments:

Anonymous
said...

okay, to sum it up, my professor pretty much said, the difference between I and II is that with type I there are more manic episodes, as opposed to type II, which has more depressive episodes. I always hear different opinions about the definitions, which drives me nuts!!!

I'm going to disagree with your professor on this. If you get out the manual it doesn't say anything about number of episodes, just that 1 must have a manic episode and 2 must have a hypomanic episode.

I invite you to share this discussion on My Social Work Network (www.mysocialworknetwork.com) -a free online community for social workers. I think it would add value to the site and we are looking for social workers who like to blog -should help you increase your readership. Just thought I would offer the site as a resource.

The Open University is the UK's largest academic institution. The school's OpenLearn website gives everyone free access to both undergraduate and graduate-level course materials from The Open University. Courses cover a wide range of topics, such as the arts, history, business, education, IT and computing, mathematics and statistics, science, health and technology. Study Guide

My professor drew a diagram representing the differences between these three disorders that has helped me remember this information tremendously! There were three different bell curves representing bipolar I and bipolar II with a midline representing "normal", lines above that representing hypomania and mania and lines below the midline representing dysthymia and depression. Wish I would just draw it for you but I hope that description helps because your blog is sure helping me!

About Me

I recently graduated with my MSW and am studying for my LSW exam. Being unable to locate a good free study guide, I have decided to make my own and hopefully help not only myself but my colleagues. I addition to social work, I love gardening and animals and am currently looking for a small farm.